a. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to holders and clamps and more specifically to secure dish holders.
b. Description of the Background
Many situations exist where food dishes or other articles can fall, spill or otherwise be upset because they are not securely held. For example, a young child at a meal in a restaurant may upset or spill the contents of a plate or other food container or may knock a dish off of the table. Sipper cups and other type of cups have been designed to minimize the amount of liquid spilled when a young child tips a cup over or knocks a cup off of a table. Some spill resistant cups have screw-on lids that have a few small holes to limit the amount of liquid that spills. However, preventing spillage from a plate or a bowl has been more challenging and parents often resort to holding a child's plate by hand to keep it from being tipped, spilled, or knocked off. Alternatively, dishes and bowls are not used at all and food for children is placed directly on the table or on a paper placemat provided by the restaurant.
Having a child eat directly from a table surface has a number of negative consequences. The table surface may be unsanitary and may contain germs or chemical residues that may contaminate the child's food. Further, cleaning up the table after a child has eaten directly from the surface may be difficult and messy. There are also many occasions where eating directly from the table surface would be impolite or impractical such as when the table is covered with a tablecloth. Using utensils to scoop food directly from a table surface is difficult so the child often uses fingers instead of utensils, making cleanup more difficult and delaying the process of learning to use utensils properly. Eating from a paper placemat or other placemat that is not designed to contain food may be unsuitable for foods that contain liquid or are runny.
An alternative to eating directly from the table or from a restaurant placemat is to use a placemat that is designed to contain food and attach to a table. Existing placemats for children have food compartments that overhang the edge of the table. Some placemats for children have suction cups which secure the placemat to an airtight smooth table top. However, such placemats fail to secure the placemat to table tops that are not sufficiently smooth and airtight to permit a sufficient vacuum to be created by the suction cups. Children's placemats have the disadvantage of not being suitable for use with utensils as described above. Further, after a child has eaten on a placemat, it must be folded or rolled up and carried home to be washed. Existing placemats are bulky to carry and food residue may soil clothing or bags in which the placemat is carried.
Some existing non-spill dishes for children have suction cups attached directly to the bottom of the dish. The suction cups may be pressed against a smooth table surface such that the resulting suction is intended to retain the dish in place. Suction cup dishes have numerous disadvantages. Suction cup dishes often have a suction release tab so that a parent may remove the cup. Many children learn to pull the release tab or otherwise release the suction and then are able to upset the dish. Suction cup dishes have the further disadvantage that the suction function does not work correctly unless a smooth upper surface is available on the table top. For example, the suction cup cannot attach to outdoor tables that have a grating table-top. Likewise, the suction cups fail to adhere to tablecloths or similarly porous surfaces. Suction cup dishes will not work with many picnic tables or other tables with slots, holes, rough surfaces or uneven surfaces.
Some suction cups lose suction power when the rubber-like material becomes deformed or loses resiliency due to heat, such as when the suction cup dish is washed in a dishwasher or left in the sun. Similarly, a nick, hole, or bend in the suction cup may cause it to fail to adhere. Even when fully functioning, suction cups may not have sufficient retaining force to prevent a child from dislodging them.
The problems of securely retaining dishes are not restricted only to small children. Adults with motor control deficiencies may also have trouble using unsecured dishes. In addition, eating in a moving environment such as in a vehicle, watercraft, aircraft or other moving environments using conventional unsecured dishes without holders may lead to spills or breakage.